United States Senator Jeff Sessions

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Sessions On Maj. Leader Reid Blocking Consent On Bill To Close Illegal Immigrant Tax Credit Loophole

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today after he joined Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) on the Senate floor to ask unanimous consent to adopt legislation (S.577) that would close a loophole allowing the IRS to send billions of dollars in tax credits to illegal aliens. This reform has been encouraged by the Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration and has passed the House.  Majority Leader Reid objected to the unanimous consent request.

 

“I’m disappointed that the Majority Leader objected to our effort today to prevent billions in tax credits from being wrongly sent to illegal immigrants claiming they have dependents, many of whom do not live in the US. This should not be a partisan issue: it is wrong for the government to use Americans’ tax dollars to directly subsidize illegality, especially at a time when our nation is spending so much money we don’t have.

 

Like the Ninth Circuit judicial conference and the GSA scandal, this is just one more example of financial chaos in the federal government.

 

Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration has been abundantly clear that these continuing payments are a misuse of taxpayer dollars and must be stopped. Since the IRS will not stop mailing these checks, he has asked Congress to take action. The House has already done so, but the Senate has not. The President should insist upon action from Majority Leader Reid and deliver firm instructions to the IRS officials who answer to him.

 

Certainly, this nation’s chief executive should be taking appropriate action to end this major abuse. These payments cost over $4 billion a year. That amount alone would meet the remaining funding shortfall for the highway bill, much of the cost of the student loan bill, and is roughly the same amount the President proposes to raise annually by instituting the new Warren Buffett Tax.”


May 2012 News Releases


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